Elliptical trainer

ABSTRACT

An exercise machine includes a static disk that is fixed in place and a dynamic disk that both rotates about its axis and revolves about the static disk. The static disk and the dynamic disk are mechanically coupled in a manner that provides a constant angular relationship between the rotation of the dynamic disk about its axis and the revolution of that axis about the axis of the static disk. The machine further includes a rotating member supported by a static pivot axis and a crank axle to which the dynamic disk is fixed. The crank axle is rotated by a crank and the rotating member imposes a fixed distance between the crank axle and the static pivot axis. The foot pedal member is pivotally supported at a distal end of the crank so that rotation of the crank causes the foot pedal to follow a generally elliptical path.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to exercise equipment and more particularly, to exercise equipment that facilitates the foot movement of a user through a generally elliptical path.

2. Description of the Related Art

Exercise equipment has been designed to facilitate a variety of exercise motions. For example, treadmills allow a person to walk or run in place; stepper machines and climber machines allow a person to climb in place; bicycle machines allow a person to pedal in place; and still other machines allow a person to skate and/or stride in place. Yet another type of exercise equipment facilitates relatively more complicated exercise motions and/or better simulates real life activity. Such equipment typically links a relatively simple motion, such as circular motion, to a relatively more complex motion, such as elliptical motion.

Elliptical exercisers permit a user to stand on pedal mechanisms and drive the pedals in a manner similar to driving the pedals of a stationary bicycle or a stair climbing machine. However, as opposed to stationary bicycles and stair climbing machines, the pedals of an elliptical pedal exerciser do not traverse a circular path of motion or an oscillating up-and-down path of motion. Instead, the pedals of an elliptical pedal exerciser are coupled to a pedal movement mechanism that causes the pedals to follow generally elliptical paths of motion, simulating the striding foot movements of a person while running or walking.

The terms “elliptical” and “generally elliptical” are used in a broad sense to describe a closed curved path of motion having a relatively longer first axis or major axis and a relatively shorter second axis or minor axis. There are many examples of elliptical trainers disclosed in the prior art, representative examples being found, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,196,948; 6,063,008; 6,045,487; 6,544,146; 6,340,3406; 5,897,463 and 5,957,814.

Users of exercise equipment favor those devices that take up a minimum amount of space and are easily stored. While many different types of elliptical exercise apparatus have been proposed and many have been commercialized, the need exists for improvements in construction and design that result in an exercise machine of reduced size that is of relatively simple construction, has a minimum of moving parts and that provides smooth, repeatable movement as well as a robust mechanism that can withstand prolonged and repeated use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides exercise machines for facilitating a foot movement of a user to follow a generally elliptical path. Particular embodiments of the exercise machine include a static disk that is fixed in place and a dynamic disk that both rotates about its axis and revolves about the static disk. The static disk and the dynamic disk are mechanically coupled in a manner that provides a constant angular relationship between the rotation of the dynamic disk about its axis and the revolution of that axis about the axis of the static disk.

In a particular embodiment of the present invention, the exercise machine includes a static disk and a static pivot axis. The static pivot axis supports a rotating member that is attached to the static pivot axis. The exercise machine further includes a crank axle that is substantially parallel to the static pivot axis and is distally mounted to the rotating member such that the rotating member imposes a fixed distance between the crank axle and the static pivot axis. This fixed distance is the effective length of the rotating member. The crank axle is mounted to the rotating member in such a manner that the crank axle is free to turn about its axis. The exercise machine further includes a crank fixed to the crank axle so that rotation of the crank causes the crank axle to rotate.

The exercise machine may further include a dynamic disk fixed to the crank axle so that when the crank rotates the crank axle, the crank axle rotates the dynamic disk. The dynamic disk is further mechanically coupled to the static disk to impose a constant angular relationship between the rotation of the crank about the crank axle and the revolution of the crank axle about the static pivot axis. The exercise machine further includes a foot pedal member pivotally supported at a distal end of the crank so that rotation of the crank causes the foot pedal to follow a generally elliptical path.

Particular embodiments of the present invention may further include a frame that indirectly supports the static disk, the static pivot axis or combinations thereof. Alternatively, the frame may directly support the static disk, the static pivot axis or combinations thereof. In particular embodiments of the present invention, both the static disk and the dynamic disk may be disposed between the frame and the rotating member and further, the static pivot axis may be substantially perpendicular to static disk and may be substantially aligned with a center of the static disk, but the invention is not so limited.

Any arrangement of the static and dynamic disks is suitable that provides for them to be mechanically coupled in a manner that imposes the constant angular relationship between rotation of the crank about the crank axle and revolution of the crank axle about the static pivot axis. To facilitate the movement of the foot pedal in a generally elliptical path, the constant angular relationship provides that the crank rotates about the crank axle once in one direction for each revolution of the crank axle around the static pivot axis in an opposite direction. Typically, this preferred constant angular relationship may be achieved by setting the ratio of the diameter of the static disk to the diameter of the dynamic disk to be 2:1.

In particular embodiments of the present invention, the crank has a crank length that is less than a distance between the crank axle and the static pivot axis. Preferably, the crank length is between about 2 inches and about 10 inches.

The dynamic disk and the static disk may be selected from a pulley, a sprocket, a gear, a roller or combinations thereof. Furthermore, the dynamic disk may be mechanically coupled to the static disk by one or more belts, chains, gears, rollers or combinations thereof. In a particular embodiment of the present invention, the rotating disk and the static disk are substantially parallel to each other and/or may have a substantially coplanar alignment.

The rotating member may be selected from a disk, a bar, a rod, a sheet, a plate or combinations thereof.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein like reference numbers represent like parts of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 describes an ellipse.

FIG. 2 is a front view of an exemplary drive mechanism for one side of an elliptical trainer in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the exemplary drive of FIG. 2.

FIGS. 4A-4B describe the elliptical paths followed by a foot pedal during one revolution of the crank axle around the static pivot axis.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an exemplary elliptical trainer in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention provides an exercise machine that facilitates the foot movement of a user to follow a generally elliptical path during use of the exercise machine. FIG. 1 describes an ellipse. The ellipse 11 is defined by its major axis 12 and its minor axis 13. Generally, without limiting the invention, it is preferred that elliptical exercise trainers provide a foot movement having a generally elliptical path that has a major axis 12 of between about 16 inches and about 24 inches, more preferably about 20 inches, and a minor axis 13 of between about 2 inches and about 8 inches, more preferably about 4 inches.

FIG. 2 is a front view of an exemplary drive mechanism for one side of an elliptical trainer in accordance with the present invention and FIG. 3 is a side view of the exemplary drive of FIG. 2. The description of the drive mechanism that follows is of only one pedal driven drive mechanism. However, as known to those having ordinary skill in the art, elliptical trainers have two pedals that operate 180 degrees out of phase, so that, for example, when the left foot pedal is at its lowest point, the right foot pedal is at its highest point. Therefore, FIG. 2 provides a front view of both drive mechanisms of the elliptical trainer and it should be recognized that both sides operate in identical fashion. The reference numbers shown on FIG. 3 differ between opposing sides only by the addition of a prime to the reference numbers of one side.

The exemplary drive mechanism is mounted to a frame 21 that is designed to sit on a floor. Both a static disk 22 and a static pivot axis 28 are supported by the frame 21, either directly (with the static disk 22 and/or static pivot point 28 fixed directly to the frame 21) or indirectly (with the static disk 22 and/or the static pivot point 28 fixed to other parts that are attached directly and/or indirectly to the frame 21). For example, in the illustrated exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a static disk support 32 is fixed to both the frame 21 and the static disk 22 so that the frame 21 directly supports the static disk 22. The static pivot axis 28 is then fixed to the static disk 22 so that the static pivot axis 28 is indirectly supported by the frame 21.

The static pivot axis 28 supports a rotating member 27 that is attached to the static pivot axis 28 in a manner that allows the rotating member 27 to rotate about the static pivot axis 28. A crank axle 24 is distally mounted to the rotating member 27; i.e., the crank axle 24 is mounted to the rotating member 27 at a location away from the point at which the rotating member 27 attaches to the static pivot axis 28. The crank axle 24 is mounted to the rotating member 27 in a manner that allows the crank axle 24 to rotate about its axis. A crank 31 is fixed to the crank axle 24 so that the crank axle 24 rotates about its axis when the crank 31 is rotated.

The rotating member 27 is selected so that it imposes a fixed distance between the crank axle 24 and the static pivot axis 28 and may be, therefore, any suitable shape, including, for example, a bar, a rod, a disk, a plate, a sheet or combinations thereof.

A dynamic disk 23 is also fixed to the crank axle 24 so that the dynamic disk 23 is rotated by the rotation of the crank 31. The dynamic disk 23 is mechanically coupled to the static disk 22 to impose a constant angular relationship between the rotation of the crank 31 about the crank axle 24 and the revolution of the crank axle 24 about the static pivot axis 28. To facilitate a generally elliptical movement of the foot pedal 25 that is pivotally supported by the crank 31, the mechanical coupling of the static and dynamic disks 22, 23 is selected to provide a constant angular relationship that imposes the crank 31 to rotate about the crank axle 24 once in one direction for each revolution of the crank axle 24 about the static pivot axis 28 in an opposite direction. For example, if the rotating member 27 rotates in a clockwise direction, then the crank 31 rotates counterclockwise. Alternatively, if the rotating member 27 rotates in a counterclockwise direction, then the crank 31 rotates clockwise.

In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the static disk 22 is a sprocket that is mechanically coupled by a chain 29 to a sprocket that is the dynamic disk 23. However, other suitable mechanical couplings of the static and dynamic disks 22, 23 may be useful as known to those having ordinary skill in the art. For example, the static and dynamic disks 22, 23 may take the form of sprockets, pulleys, rollers and/or gears and may be mechanically coupled by one or more belts, chains, gears, rollers or combinations thereof. The static and dynamic disks 22, 23 may be mechanically coupled through friction using, for example, one or more rollers. It should be noted that, for example, if interlocking gears couple the static and dynamic disks or if rollers couple the disks through friction, then an intermediate gear or roller would be required to cause the rotating member 27 and the crank 31 to rotate in opposite directions. Any mechanical coupling of the static and dynamic disks 22, 23 is acceptable as long as the mechanical coupling imposes the desired constant angular relationship between the rotation of the crank 31 once about the crank axle 24 in one direction, e.g., clockwise, for each revolution of the crank axle 24 about the static pivot axis 28 in an opposite direction, e.g., counterclockwise.

A foot pedal member 25 is pivotally supported at the distal end of the crank 31 by a foot peddle pivot axis 26. The foot of a user drives the foot pedal member 25 so that the crank 31 is rotated. The crank 31 rotation causes the dynamic disk 23 to rotate and, because the dynamic dick 23 is mechanically coupled to the static disk 22, the rotating member 27 is caused to rotate about the static pivot axis 28, thereby causing the crank axle 24 to revolve around the static pivot axis 28, and thereby facilitating the foot pedal 25 to move in a generally elliptical path.

FIGS. 4A-4B describe the elliptical path followed by a foot pedal during one revolution of the crank axle around the static pivot axis. In FIG. 4A, at position a, the rotating member 27 is positioned so that the crank axle 24 is at the lowest position. The crank 31 is positioned so that the foot pedal pivot axis 26 is aligned between the static pivot point 28 and the crank axle 24. This position of the foot pedal pivot axis 26 places the foot pedal 25 (See, FIG. 3) at its lowest position in the elliptical path 32.

At position b, the rotating member 27 has rotated a quarter of a turn around the static pivot axis 28 and the crank 31 has rotated one-quarter turn in the opposite direction around the crank axle 24. In position b, the rotating member 27 and the crank 31 are positioned so that the foot pedal pivot axis 26 is at a far right position along the elliptical path 31. As can be seen, in position b, the foot pedal pivot axis 26 is no longer aligned between the static pivot axis 28 and the crank axle 24 but instead, has rotated to place the foot pedal pivot axis 26 at the far right position along the elliptical path 32.

At position c, the rotating member 27 has rotated one-half turn from position a and the crank 31 has also rotated one-half turn, thereby again placing the foot pedal pivot axis 26 in alignment between the static pivot point 28 and the crank axle 24. At position c, the foot pedal 25 is at its highest point in the elliptical path 32.

At position d, the rotating member 27 has rotated three-quarters of a rotation from position a about the static pivot axis 28 and the crank 31 has also rotated three-quarters of a turn about the crank axle 24. In position d, the foot pedal pivot axis 26 is no longer aligned between the static pivot axis 28 and the crank axle 24 but instead, has rotated to place the foot pedal pivot axis 26 at a far left position along the elliptical path 32. The movement of the rotating member 27 then facilitates the completion of the elliptical path of the foot pedal by returning to position a.

FIG. 4B illustrates the effect of the length of the crank 31 on the shape of the generally elliptical path 32 that foot pedal 25 (See, FIG. 3) will follow. Even though the distance between the static pivot axis 28 and the crank axle 24 is the same in both FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, the generally elliptical path 32 traced in FIG. 4B is longer and narrower than that of FIG. 4A because the effective length of the crank 31 is longer.

The major axis and the minor axis (See, FIG. 1) of the generally elliptical path 32 traced by the foot pedal 25 may be set by the effective length of the crank 31 and the effective length of the rotating member 27. As shown in FIG. 4A, the effective length 11 of the rotating member 27 may be defined as the distance between the static pivot axis 28 and the crank axle 24. The effective length 12 of the crank 32 may be defined as the distance between the crank axle 24 and the foot pedal pivot axis 26. The length of the minor axis of the generally elliptical path 32 can be described, therefore, as 2(l₁ −l₂) and the length of the major axis of the generally elliptical path 32 can be described as 2(l_(1 +l) ₂). Therefore, by changing the effective length l₂ of the crank 31 or by changing the effective length l₁ of the rotating member 27, the shape of the generally elliptical path 32 may be changed to make the path longer/shorter and thinner/fatter.

In particular embodiments of the present invention, the effective length l₁ of the rotating member 27 and the effective length of the l₂ of the crank 31 may be changed by the user. For example, holes may be provided at different locations 33 along the rotating member to allow the user to move the foot pedal pivot axis 26 from its shown location to a second location 33. Alternatively, the rotating member and/or the crank may be placed on a threaded rod so that rotation of the threaded rod will change the effective length of the rotating member 27 or the crank 31.

In particular embodiments of the present invention, the effective length of the crank is less than the effective length of the rotating member. The closer the effective length of the crank is to the effective length of the rotating member, the shorter will be the minor axis of the generally elliptical path followed by the foot pedal. Although not limiting the invention, the effective length of the rotating member preferably ranges between about 4 and about 10 inches, more preferably between about 6 and about 8 inches. Preferably, though not meant to limit the invention, the effective crank length may range between about 3 and about 9 inches, more preferably between about 4 and about 8 inches. Advantageously, because the crank adds length to the generally elliptical path followed by the foot pedal, the rotating member can be made smaller, thereby providing a smaller and lighter exercise machine.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an exemplary elliptical trainer in accordance with the present invention. The exemplary elliptical trainer 50 further includes a handle 53 useful for exercising muscles of the upper body. The handle 53 is supported by a column 55 through the handle pivot axis 52. The foot pedal member 25 is further pivotally supported at a distal end of the handle 53 at a distal foot pedal pivot axis 51.

The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” as used in the claims and specification herein, shall be considered as indicating an open group that may include other elements not specified. The term “consisting essentially of,” as used in the claims and specification herein, shall be considered as indicating a partially open group that may include other elements not specified, so long as those other elements do not materially alter the basic and novel characteristics of the claimed invention. The terms “a,” “an,” and the singular forms of words shall be taken to include the plural form of the same words, such that the terms mean that one or more of something is provided. For example, the phrase “a solution comprising a phosphorus-containing compound” should be read to describe a solution having one or more phosphorus-containing compound. The terms “at least one” and “one or more” are used interchangeably. The term “one” or “single” shall be used to indicate that one and only one of something is intended. Similarly, other specific integer values, such as “two,” are used when a specific number of things is intended. The terms “preferably,” “preferred,” “prefer,” “optionally,” “may,” and similar terms are used to indicate that an item, condition or step being referred to is an optional (not required) feature of the invention.

It should be understood from the foregoing description that various modifications and changes may be made in the preferred embodiments of the present invention without departing from its true spirit. The foregoing description is provided for the purpose of illustration only and should not be construed in a limiting sense. Only the language of the following claims should limit the scope of this invention. 

1. An exercise machine for facilitating a foot movement of a user to follow a generally elliptical path, comprising: a static disk and a static pivot axis, the static pivot axis supporting a rotating member attached to the static pivot axis; a crank axle having a crank fixed thereto, the crank axle being substantially parallel to the static pivot axis and distally mounted to the rotating member so that the rotating member imposes a fixed distance between the crank axle and the static pivot axis, wherein rotation of the crank causes the crank axle to rotate; a dynamic disk fixed to the crank axle and mechanically coupled to the static disk to impose a constant angular relationship between rotation of the crank about the crank axle and revolution of the crank axle about the static pivot axis; and a foot pedal member pivotally supported at a distal end of the crank so that rotation of the crank causes the foot pedal to follow a generally elliptical path.
 2. The exercise machine of claim 1, wherein a frame indirectly supports the static disk, the static pivot axis or combinations thereof.
 3. The exercise machine of claim 2, wherein the static disk is disposed between the frame and the rotating member.
 4. The exercise machine of claim 1, wherein a ratio of a diameter of the static disk to a diameter of the dynamic disk is 2:1.
 5. The exercise machine of claim 1, wherein the crank rotates about the crank axle once in one direction for each revolution of the crank axle around the static pivot axis in an opposite direction.
 6. The exercise machine of claim 1, wherein the crank has a crank length that is less than a distance between the crank axle and the static pivot axis.
 7. The exercise machine of claim 6, wherein the crank length is between about 2 inches and about 10 inches.
 8. The exercise machine of claim 1, wherein the static pivot axis is substantially aligned with a center of the static disk.
 9. The exercise machine of claim 1, wherein the static pivot axis is substantially perpendicular to the static disk.
 10. The exercise machine of claim 1, wherein the dynamic disk and the static disk are selected from a pulley, a sprocket, a gear, a roller or combinations thereof.
 11. The exercise machine of claim 9, wherein the dynamic disk is mechanically coupled to the static disk by one or more belts, chains, gears, rollers or combinations thereof.
 12. The exercise machine of claim 1, wherein the rotating disk and the static disk are substantially parallel to each other.
 13. The exercise machine of claim 11, wherein the rotating disk and the static disk are in substantially coplanar alignment.
 14. The exercise machine of claim 1, wherein the rotating member is selected from a disk, a bar, a rod, a sheet, a plate or combinations thereof. 